Patients in intensive care units often require restraint. Moreover, post-operative patients are sometimes delirious and require restraint so that their surgical incisions may heal properly.
Also, patients who are seated in wheelchairs often require restraint to prevent them from sliding downwardly.
Inventors have long been interested in the art of restraint devices. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,787,101 and 4,683,594 to Feinberg both disclose shoulder seams having self-adhering strip members. Other restraint jackets or garments of interest are shown in U.S. Pats. 4,117,840 to Rasure. 3,163,311 to Lewis and 3,265,065 to Jillson. Moreover, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,354 and 4,488,544 to Triunfol disclose garments of interest.
Still further U.S. patents that show Velcro.TM. brand fastening means along the shoulder include Freeman, 4,570,268, Ragone 3,055,855 and Stewart 4,764,986.
Bailey patent D115,983 shows zippers along the shoulders, and Bloom 1,811,821 and Hanks 839,139 disclose seams, zippers or snaps along the front or back of garments.
Other U.S. patents showing Velcro brand fastening means, or snap fasteners, buttons, hook and eyes, and other fastener means, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,827,107 to Moore, 4,509,214 to Shea and 3,110,903 to Burchard.
Thus, it is clear that the art is quite well developed, but there are subtle inadequacies in the known restraint jackets.
For example, restraint jackets are commonly put on backwards by health care personnel who are too preoccupied with numerous simultaneous pressing concerns to carefully study the design of a particular restraint garment before putting it on a patient. Many hastily put on restraint garments are put on backwards; due to poor design, many worn-backwards garments choke the person wearing them. Such choking is a very serious problem, especially since the average restrained patient has little control over his or her body position. The art has not produced a restraint garment that overcomes this problem.
Another important drawback of the known garments is that they must be taken off when an intravenous feeding is required in the subclavian region. Putting on and taking off restraint garments so that an IV may be attached int he subclavian region is an activity that consumes entirely too much time in modern health care institutions. Yet, the art has failed to develop restraint garments that need not be removed when a subclavian IV feed is necessary.
Moreover, although Velcro brand fastening means, zippers, and other fastening means are commonly used in various garments, such fastening means are always used as the primary closure means, and no backup closure means is provided.